Groups of girls are quite the thing for SS13 editorials and ad campaigns. Chanel has Stella Tennant, Ondria Hardin and Yumi Lambert; Balenciaga has Kremi Otashliyska, Sam Rollinson and Kirstin Liljegren, and did anyone else choke on their morning muffin at the sight of not two or three, but four girls in Chloe’s latest campaign? Continue reading →

Years and years ago I bought a photo book by Alexander Liberman called The Artist In His Studio (it’s out of print but you can still find it on Amazon and eBay). I was (and still am) a bit obsessed with artists and their paraphernalia.

In this month’s US Vogue, Annie Liebovitz has produced her mini-version, featuring the studios of Jeff Koons, John Currin and Jasper Johns. I loved the accompanying interviews and the close-up of Jasper Johns’ charcoals and pastels. I definitely think she should do a follow up to the Liberman book.

On a side note, another publication that offers regular peeps into artists’ studios, and writers’ abodes, is Apartamento. I’ve just finished reading the last issue which featured the bookseller Conor Donlon and the writer Duncan Fallowell (below) who has every nook of his atelier stuffed with books. I can’t decide if this is heaven or hell…

It’s going to be hard to avoid Grace Coddington over the next few weeks – girl’s got a memoir to promote! But why would you want to avoid the flame-tressed one? So far, I’m loving this i-D cover with its barely-there coverlines, Celine cobalt coat and cheeky wink. On the stands next week, there’s also an interview with i-D’s Terry Jones to look forward to…

Like the music industry, the publishing industry has become about selling product as well as content. So brand extensions are flourishing like nothing before. But what Vogue has is quite unique – its content is its brand extensions. It uses its incredible archive of photography, illustration and editorials to produce all manner of products, from books to beach towels. Continue reading →

When in Sweden, one should buy Acne, or that’s the mantra I like to live by. So that’s exactly what I did on my mini-break to Stockholm last month. As guests of Visit Sweden, D (Mr DRG) and I stayed at the one-year-old Hotel Scandic Grand Central availing ourselves of its rather unique Blogger’s Inn room. Continue reading →

Five months ago, BON magazine commissioned me to write about 3D printing and its potential impact on the fashion industry. The best bit was researching it (with some great help from Jen Eleto). I got some incredibly generous insights from the likes of Dutch product designer Sjors Bergmans who made the first wearable 3D printed shoes, Chris Norman, CEO of 3D printing company Kraftwurx, and Peter Hill who runs the fashion digital studio at London College of Fashion. During my interview with Ron Arad, he disappeared to unearth some 3D printed earrings from the back office of his studio. They were made nine years ago – “the first 3D printed consumer accessories”, according to him.

I also spoke to legal expert Kenneth Mullen and commercial strategy consultant Ceci Guicciardi to get their views on how the ease of 3D printing in future will affect copyright laws, while LCF’s Peter Hill even let us use the LCF 3D printers to make some possible designer ‘fakes’ – with interesting results. (Conclusion: it’s early days for this technology but it’s developing fast.) The article has just been published and has had a good response. Some people are calling 3D printing the third industrial revolution, but if you still think 3D printing in fashion means creating 3D textures on a T-shirt, then maybe you need to go to 3D Printshow at The Brewery in Clerkenwell this weekend. (Admission is £19.95 and boooking is advisable. Info here.)

I just clocked this Vogue Paris November cover. Well, I can’t tell whether it’s old or new. It’s got a slightly muted quality and the ‘girls’ are in standard ‘classic Vogue cover’ uniform of 501s and white shirt – a look we’ve seen a million times (and I personally never tire of). Daria, Stephanie and Lauren could all be in their 30s-40s and going by hair, make-up, styling, lighting, even the colour of the coverlines, this could be from any time between the late 80s and now. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? Is it classic, or lazy and a bit predictable? I haven’t made my mind up but my instinct says it’s timeless and beautiful. What do you think?

Magazines swore they’d never do it. “Editorial is editorial; commerce is commerce,” they chorused. But things are different now. Harper’s Bazaar has just launched Shop.Bazaar.com in preview, a shoppable edit for the Harper’s Bazaar woman. In essence it’s a bit like Net-a-Porter in reverse. It has shoppable content curated via the pages of Harper’s Bazaar by its impeccably-pedigreed editors and is powered in partnership with retailers like Saks Fifth Avenue and Hirshleifers (Harper’s doesn’t hold any inventory itself; its fashion cupboards are big, but not that big), as well as mono-brands like Salvatore Ferragamo. I’ve just signed up so I’m having a play. Will report back…

One of the things I love about watching the shows is sussing out the styling. The bigger brands use the best stylists in the biz to tell the ‘story’ of the collection and show how the clothes can be worn, something you’re just never going to get from seeeing pieces hung on a rail. Those Prada tabi socks, the Dries Van Noten layers, the white sunglasses at Rochas, they’re all trends waiting to be translated to the street that will help the designers sell even more of their wares and chances are, those ideas come from the stylist. Continue reading →

Last weekend I was featured in The Guardian, picking out my favourite high street pieces from Whistles. I chose its boyish coats, tailored tees, a little red long-sleeved dress, a pyjama-style blouse and some minimalist leathergoods as my seasonal edit. Continue reading →